A Short History of Nearly Anything

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I've recently read this excellent book and finishing it left me with an interesting mixture of feelings. I enjoyed the thing immensely, but I also felt pretty annoyed. Here is why:
when I was at school (many moons ago) text books were uniformly dull and uninspiring. They didn't get you interested in a given subject and failed to leave you with that urge to find out more. As a result, I found the whole learning experience tiresome and I didn't bother to push myself. I know it drove my treachers mad. (Many school reports with that old chestnut: "could do better!")

Bill Bryson's book has turned this on its head. It seems books that teach you things can be both informative and interesting to read after all. I wish I'd had such things 20 years ago.

I get the feeling that if all text books were written in such a fashion, the government wouldn't have to fiddle the exam results every year. It's just a thought.

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